There are many pro's and con's to living here.

Pros:
1)AMAZING maintenance service. Not only are they really nice, but they come in no time! Our toilet was clogged. I called the office and withing 10 minutes they came to fix it! When we first moved in, the chain on the door was broken, and they came within 24 hours to replace it...and that is not even an emergency. All the crew would chat and be very sweet.

2)It's cheap. I haven't found another cheaper place to rent near campus. Of course it is not furnished...no microwave even!!! Just a fridge, stove, and counter tops! ***NO LIGHTS*** Yup, no fans or light on the ceiling...YOU HAVE TO BUY LAMPS!! Well, for the living room and bedrooms. The kitchen, bathroom, and dining area have lights but that is it! So remember the lamps!

3)There is a bus/USF shuttle route in one of the entrances.

4)Laundry room. It stinks not having a washer and dryer in the apt but their laundry room is nice and big. There are like 15 washers and maybe 12 dryers (estimate). I go at night around 10pm so there is rarely anyone there. It is also key access so you can go in 24/7. It's a bit pricey though and the loads are medium, not large sized. It costs like $3.20 total for 1 load wash and dry. Here is the problem though. They give u a cash card. You can put money on the card and that card is what you use to put in the machines (no quarters). But, each place only gets 1 card, so my roommate and I gotta plan to share it. They also only give you one mailbox key.

5)The pool is pretty decent. At least it looks that way. Right now it is winter and it gets too cold to swim. But the area looks clean and nice. I don't know how busy it gets during the summer.

CONS:
1)Parking is horrid!! Good luck if you don't live in a dead end area where you have a circle of parking. I know people that have to park like 3 buildings down when they come home at night.

2)Crime. Ok I haven't seen too much crime yet but I live in the back. My car just got broken into (smashed my window). I wasn't the main target though. They hit my neighbor a while back to steal her stereo, and they did it again last night. So I guess they decided to hit my car while they were there! I heard this happens a lot here, but I only asked one person. Lucky for us they didn't steal anything (I left my wallet in the car by mistake and they got that, but no cash!)

3)The gate is useless. People think they are lazy fixing it...nope! If you look at the place where you type in your entrance code, its not even a screen. They basically disconnected the whole system, so it is NOT a gated community. They were just too lazy to remove the gates maybe to trick new prospects into thinking it works at night. But it is obvious they have no plan to fix it ever if they removed the screen.

4)Ghetto people. It's a cheap place...so you are bound to run into low income, or "ghetto" people. I haven't felt unsafe at night yet, but then again I don't walk around all the time. I haven't heard of any other crime except the car break ins. You run into the loud idiots but I guess that's any cheap place.

5)The people at the front desk can be difficult to work with. I don't run into them much, but I have heard many angry people yelling about how unreasonable they are. I have also heard my roommate yelling at them on the phone. I guess try to suck up and be nice to them, then they are more likely to return it to you.

6)Windows. Ok, so the parking areas face the windows, in our rooms and living room. So when a car parks at night, the lights shine in and we can hear people at late night. Oh and the shades are cheap, so I think people can see in if they shine a light. We had to buy curtains (found cheap ones at the local thrift store). It's not always that bad. Only about 5 times there were late drunk loud people...which goes to my next point...

7)Thin walls! I can hear when my neighbors are outside on our shared balcony just talking...I mean I can hear everything. I can hear their music as well. I don't hear them talk in their apt, so it's not THAT bad. I don't feel unsafe, just letting you know if you are a loud person that might be a problem.

MEDIUM:
1)The workout room. It's crap. I mean at least they have one right' All the machines are old and the programs on them don't always work. And only like 3 people can work out at once. They have a treadmill, bike, and weight system. Only one person can use the weights at one time since it is all connected. The machines are also loud and crappy, but again, they work. I always go at late night so my roommate and I have privacy. Therefore, I don't know if people use it much any other times.

2)We share a bathroom. SUCKS cuz I have never shared one before...but the reason it's medium is because they have 2 sinks. Kinda like a hotel. One inside the bathroom (a TINY one). And one right outside the door. So if someone is showering, the other can still brush and do her hair. Th

In conclusion, my roommate and I are young girls that go to USF. We don't feel totally unsafe or anything, but we live in a dead end area. I am really upset about my car and that scared me a bit, mainly because we have reason to believe the bad people live in the neighborhood. Because my neighbor got his twice and in the same way, we think someone is watching. Especially since they hit my car too (I don't have an alarm yet...so people can see I open and close my car manually with a key). I love the fact that they take animals and that they are cheap. But, we are SO moving out. We finally have better jobs (my roommate and I) and we plan to get a nicer place since we can afford it. If you plan to live here, get a NICE car alarm and don't ever...EVER leave valuables in the car. Remember to get floor lamps for 3 rooms, a microwave, and curtains.

User Responses
From: willow83	Date: 02/20/2007
Ok for one thing. What the heck do you expect??? I mean, you're a student that doesn't have decent money coming in, so if I was you, I wouldn't be picky, I would be thankful! The place has a great staff, maintence is awsome, I think the place is perfect. Every apartment home has something wrong with them doesn't mean that you need to talk crap. I mean pro's and con's, come on act like an adult will you!!!
From: erysichthon	Date: 03/03/2007
Willow83, do you work at these apartments? Your username is conspicously similiar to the community's name, and hostile defensiveness of the place is cause for such concern.
From: norolimfrodo	Date: 03/04/2007
I am the person that posted this rating..and in reply to "willow83", THIS IS A RATING SITE...i still said "yes" in if i would recommend it, but I have to make sure people understand everything about it. I basically said what I wished I had heard before I moved in. I have since shopped around and found that there are other places charging the same with better things included (like a light in every room). So yes..I SHOULD EXPECT MORE. ESPECIALLY IF YOUR APT DOES NOT EVER USE THEIR GATES SO PEOPLE CAN BREAK INTO MY CAR.
From: unhappytampa	Date: 05/02/2007
First off Very Ironic that Willow83 is very unusually defensive and similar to the "project" name. I would like to add a few comments to the original post as a few things have changed. The laundry room...prices have increased some but still not bad HOWEVER, the cash card has changed! Now instead of inserting cash into the machine to "load" your card you MUST have a debit or credit card to do so! And the only options you now have are selecting $10 or $20 bucks at a time. The washer and dryer prices arent of even demoninations so it is often annoying to be left with a load of wet clothes and $1.30 on your laundry card when you need $1.40. You can however purchase additional cards now thru the machine at 5 bucks a pop. The reason for the change is because the doors are ancient and rotting, the locks are a joke, no card is needed to get in just a quarter or a key and people used to break in and rob the cash and vending machine. The gym for a long period was no longer accessible at night for the same reasons. The pool is usually very well kept and they have added some safety precautions. The gates to the pool are still rotted and oftem broken and need to be properly replaced. Parking is always a nightmare. Instead of trying to tow my car for having out of state plates try envoking parking laws. Most communities that don't offer assigned parking use parking stickers and guest passes. Try towing the 10 cars that dont live here and sit for a month in the same spot, or enforce the fact that people in a 1 bedroom have 4 cars and a motorcycle. Crime is getting worse! Lighting is fair when it works(timers often turn off early or breakers pop and buildings are in complete darkness. UPGRADE the breakers to handle proper lighting. 1 poor woman has had her apartment windows and screens busted open 3 times, she finally moved out. The back fences are falling apart, littered with grafitti and ripped open. The wooded areas are not well kept and easy hiding spots. Screens busted, cars broken into, bikes stolen.
From: wontmisshere	Date: 05/15/2007
unhappytampa my opinion is the same as yours
From: Anonymous	Date: 07/20/2008
It was a very comprehensive review. I've lived here for four years and I agree pretty much with all you've said. To summarize in brief, maintenance is great, parking is a problem. Security is questionable but better than some of the apartments on 42nd street. It is a no frills place, pretty decent for students and young families who can't afford some of the nicer places in the area.

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